Recent articles in medical journals demonstrate the hidden costs of using needles to administer medication to patients, and the like. One article reports that fully one third of all work-related hospital accidents relate to needlesticks. Needle stick injuries have a potential devastating long term impact on hospital workers with the increasing risks of blood-borne disease transmission, particularly diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B. That same article reports needle stick injury rates in excess of one per ten employees. A second article determined the average cost (not including costs associated with employee loss due to debilitating injury) to be $405 per injury. These costs are in addition to the known costs associated with the purchase and disposal of the needled devices.
A third article reports the hospital handling of needles leading to needle stick injuries as being
1) intramuscular or subcutaneous injections, PA1 2) intravenous catheters, PA1 3) disassembly of the needled devices, PA1 4) recapping attempts, PA1 5) multistep procedures (e.g., multi-component medication mixing), PA1 6) disposal of needles.
This same article reported that only 18% of the needle stick injuries involved in this study could be addressed by an improved disposal technique and concluded that only a portion of those 18% could be eliminated by such improved handling techniques. This article suggests the answer lies in eliminating the unnecessary use of needled devices, that is, usage of needleless and protected needle devices is encouraged.
The risks associated with using needles and the advantages of needleless transfer systems for medication are further detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,840, which is hereby incorporated by reference. The significant reduction of the risk of transmitting blood-borne diseases make the use of such a needleless system very attractive. Still, it is important that the valved medication container be workable without exacting a substantial penalty in the area of cost. To this end, the present invention presents a number of workable, cost-effective valved medication containers.
Other proposed solutions have included the use of an adapter that can be threadably attached to the top of the container to permit engagement by a syringe. One of the problems with a separate attachable adapter is that it requires the extra steps of locating and affixing the adapter. In addition, proper sanitation requires the adapter to be sterilized before each use to avoid possible contamination of the medication within the container.
Applicant's medication container includes a stopper with a self-contained valve that is engaged and operated by the blunt end of a needleless syringe. A first embodiment includes a sliding operator which engages a slit elastomeric membrane to force open a passageway that permits medication to be withdrawn. A second embodiment utilizes a double-biased duckbill curved inwardly where the blunt end of a syringe can engage and force the duckbill open against the bias. A third embodiment utilizes a T-shaped passageway in a sliding operator actuated by the syringe to move between a first closed position and a second open position. A fourth embodiment employs a pair of axially opposed flapper valves which define a slit at their junction that is opened by the leading end of the syringe. Each of these embodiments can be provided with an optional vent passage that may be equipped with a one-way valve to avoid medication leakage. The vent passageway becomes required in larger containers.
Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent after a reading of the following specification.